Quest for bargains wins out over sleep

Nicole Marshall shopped at several malls between midnight and 7:30 this Black Friday morning, before taking a breakfast break with a large group of her friends at the new IHOP in Northboro. Some of the group planned to head to Wrentham Village Premium Outlets in Wrentham after reviving with caffeine.

“I think I spent $120 dollars and got a whole lot of stuff,” said Ms. Marshall, who is 18. The group of 10 teens all seemed to think their early bird shopping was worth the sleepless night because of the low prices. Ms. Marshall said their first stop was at Old Navy near Solomon Pond Mall in Marlboro for $5 fleece jackets, “The line was all the way to the back of the store. We waited 40 minutes there before heading to Solomon Pond Mall.

“Natick was a lot better than Solomon,” Ms. Marshall said. “Not as hectic.”

Bargains is the name of the game for Black Friday shoppers, and even though retailers keep changing their marketing strategies and opening times every year, diehards in Central Massachusetts kept up really well this year.

Deals on merchandise abounded at area stores, many of which opened earlier than ever. Most stores in the Solomon Pond and Auburn malls opened just after midnight, with eager shoppers already in line in front of their favorite stores. The most die-hard shoppers arrived early and finished before others were just waking up, or when many of the first or second round of advertised “doorbusters” expired. Doorbusters are very low-priced items, typically with limited supplies available for a short period of time. With this year's staggered store opening times, shoppers had to plan carefully to take full advantage.

Uday Korrabati, Venkap Narkedamilli, both of Worcester, and Arun Sista of Shrewsbury made a detailed shopping plan, and the group scored six iPhones, televisions, clothing and toys. The trip started at the Best Buy in the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley in Millbury, followed by the Target there.

“There were huge lines,” Mr. Narkedamilli said. “It's like a festival out there.”

By 3 this morning, they were at the Solomon Pond Mall to hit the clothing and toy stores.

“We're almost done here,” Mr. Sista said. “And we're heading home.”

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is often considered the official start of holiday shopping, and is typically the busiest shopping day of the year. The term is believed to have originated in Philadelphia in reference to heavy traffic on that day, but the meaning has morphed to mean the day when retailers' balance sheets go from being in the red to being in the black.

While it is too soon to tell how retailers' balance sheets for Black Friday will look, early morning shoppers in the region did their part to boost the economy. Cars filled the gigantic parking lots at the Walmart in Northboro, and the Bob's, Staples and Bed, Bath & Beyond on Route 9 in Shrewsbury very early this morning.

Sheila Hennesy, area marketing manager for the Solomon Pond, Greendale and Auburn malls, was at the Solomon Pond Mall since midnight.

“Auburn Mall was very busy. I just talked to the manager,” Ms. Hennessy said. “They opened at 12:30, and the manager said it was the busiest they've seen it. The traffic has been remarkable here (at Solomon Pond Mall.) It seems to me that shoppers know what they want.”

The earliest birds got the best deals: Clothing store Hollister, for example, offered a 50 percent discount on all purchases until 6 a.m., then a 40 percent discount for several hours. The discount will drop to 30 percent later today.

“I would say the first wave was 12:30 to 3, and then there was a little lull,” Ms. Hennesy said. At 6:30 this morning, she said the traffic was picking up for another wave of bargain-hunters.

Old Navy in Millbury opened at midnight, while Old Navy in the Mall at Whitney Field in Leominster opened at 12:30.

Walmart stores in Northboro and Whitinsville opened at 1 this morning, as did Target stores in Worcester, Westboro and Milford.

The after-Thanksgiving Midnight Madness sale at Wrentham Village Premium Outlets in Wrentham draws people from all over New England. Traffic on Interstate 495 in the area was backed up for some time before midnight and around midnight. The outlets hired state police details this year to try to prevent traffic jams, according to authorities.

“As of right now, the roads are free and clear,” said Trooper Todd Nolan, spokesman for the state police, at 11 today,

Since it is bound to be hectic out there this weekend, the National Crime Prevention Council, a nonprofit organization, is urging shoppers not to get too caught up in the craziness of Black Friday and the holiday shopping season. The council advocates using a heads-up approach to shopping and safety.